The 2011 season was the 121st season of the Port Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The club achieved a perfect season to win its 16th VFA/VFL premiership, marking the club's first senior premiership since 1982 and its first at any level since the 2004 VFL reserves season.
Under senior coach Gary Ayres, Port Melbourne started the season 4–0 (its best start since 1999) and went onto win all 18 of its home-and-away matches, finishing first on the ladder with a percentage of 156.2 and claiming the VFA/VFL minor premiership for the 19th time. In the finals series, Port Melbourne easily defeated to reach the preliminary final, where it defeated the Northern Bullants by 22 points. The grand final saw Port Melbourne overcome a 21-point deficit at quarter-time to defeat by 56 points at Etihad Stadium in front of a crowd of 11,804 people.
It was the first time in 93 years (and third time overall) that a VFA/VFL club had won the top division premiership undefeated; such a feat occurred with in 1915 and 1918, although the length of both of those seasons was shortened due to World War I. was the only other club to achieve a perfect senior VFA season when it won the Division 2 premiership in 1972.
The success of Port Melbourne was further notable because it was one of just two "standalone" VFL teams competing in the 2011 season without a reserves affiliation with an Australian Football League club (the other being ). It was the first time since the AFL reserves competition merged with the VFL in 2000 that a standalone club had won the premiership.
In addition to winning the premiership, Port Melbourne won the VFL Club Championship as the best-performing club across the senior and reserves competitions during the home-and-away season. Its top three finish on the ladder saw it qualify for the Foxtel Cup in 2012, where it made the semi-finals. Port Melbourne's winning streak lasted until round 8 of the 2012 season, when the club was defeated by at Victoria Park.
Playing list 2011 playing squad
VFL season
Home-and-away season Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores Venue Crowd Ladder Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 2 April (2:00 pm) Box Hill City Oval 1,403 5th 2 Saturday, 9 April (2:00 pm) TEAC Oval — 2nd 3 Sunday, 17 April (2:00 pm) Trevor Barker Oval — 2nd 4 Saturday, 23 April (1:10 pm) NAB Oval — 1st 5 Bye 1st 6 Saturday, 7 May (2:00 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 7 Saturday, 14 May (2:00 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 8 Sunday, 22 May (2:00 pm) Windy Hill — 1st 9 Bye 1st 10 Saturday, 4 June (1:10 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 11 Saturday, 11 June (2:00 pm) Coburg City Oval — 1st 12 Saturday, 18 June (2:00 pm) Eureka Stadium — 1st 13 Saturday, 25 June (1:10 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 14 Bye 1st 15 Saturday, 9 July (2:00 pm) Victoria Park — 1st 16 Saturday, 6 July (2:00 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 17 Saturday, 23 July (1:10 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 18 Bye 1st 19 Sunday, 7 August (2:00 pm) Frankston Park — 1st 20 Saturday, 13 August (1:10 pm) Chirnside Park — 1st 21 Saturday, 20 August (2:00 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st 22 Saturday, 27 August (1:10 pm) TEAC Oval — 1st
Finals series Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores Venue Crowd Home Away Result Qualifying final Saturday, 3 September (2:10 pm) TEAC Oval — Preliminary final Saturday, 17 September (2:10 pm) TEAC Oval — Grand Final Sunday, 25 September (2:15 pm) Etihad Stadium 11,804
Awards and milestones Port Melbourne's Shane Valenti won the J. J. Liston Trophy with 25 votes as the VFL's best-and-fairest player, the second year in a row that he had won the award. Patrick Rose kicked 67 goals during the home-and-away season to claim the Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal as the VFL's leading goalkicker.
Club awards Jack McFarlane Medal (best and fairest): Sam Pleming 2nd best and fairest: Sam Dwyer 3rd best and fairest: Shane Valenti Leading goalkicker: Patrick Rose (79 goals, including finals)
References